Shipping electric bike from UK to USA

[Eileen Kopp]

I have a Kalkhoff Agattu with an Li-Ion 36V battery. What is the easiest and cheapest way to transport it to the USA. I am looking into shipping it by sea. I understand that one cannot ship an electric bike by air. But can one do so if the battery is taken off and the battery is shipped by sea? The box for the bike measures 195 cm L x 117 cm H x 24 cm W. It does not matter how long the transport takes. I bought the bike brand new in January and am relocating.

Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated.

Eileen

 

[SteveRuss]

I'm wondering whether it's worth shipping the bike without the battery then replacing the battery when you're out there.

There must be all manner of problems shipping that separately. What Ah is the battery on yours?

 

[Eileen Kopp]

It is 17 Ah. Thanks.

 

[SteveRuss]

It is 17 Ah. Thanks.

Hmm. It may be tricky to get one of that capacity out there without spending a fortune.

I'd probably look to ship it separately. There must be a courier that will do that as my Kalkhoff was shipped to the Uk somehow. I'd contact 50cycles for some advice.

 

[jonathan75]

Suppliers really do know the cheapest cheapest ways of doing these things otherwise they wouldn't be in business. If 50 cycles won't tell you who they use (indeed you could ask them or your original supplier to do it for you at cost,or at cost plus a small fee,as a favour, which keeps their secrecy) keep trying until you find one who tells you.

Of course sometimes these cheap methods are uninsured but not always.

 

[JohnCade]

When I had to return my 17ah battery to 50 Cycles under warranty just before Christmas they couldn’t suggest anyone to transport it. The wouldn’t even ship me the new one so I could send the old one back, and I had to make a 300 mile round trip to the nearest shop to do the swap. They told me that their shippers had tightened up and it was not cost effective to send batteries anymore. The only way was to send complete bikes with the batteries on them. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me either.

By contrast eight months earlier I did get a new battery from Woosh, and they arranged the collection of the old one in the same box with the warning label. 50 Cycles told me that things had tightened up since then, and posting here at the time about it it it seems that some dealers send batteries and some don’t. So adding the extra complexity of sending it internationally would be problem I think. The Chinese bikes all come by sea with the batteries on them and I would think that would be the best way to ship your bike.

 

[Kuorider]

By the time you cost out the shipping plus any snags, it may make financial sense to sell here and buy there.

 

[Kuorider]

The wouldn’t even ship me the new one so I could send the old one back

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews/50-Cycles-Reviews-E967936.htm
This may explain a few things well worth a read.

 

[JohnCade]

If this bloke us the current manager at the Bristol shop he is pretty fearless. Or about to leave maybe.

 

[Eileen Kopp]

Thank you everyone